Bobbi Brown
Free shipping and Pick Your Own Holiday set with any purchase of $50 or more. Choose Smoky Violet set with code WARMUP1, or Pink Shimmer set with code WARMUP2 (both sets include 2 full-size and 2 minis). Offers end 11/26/14 at 11:59 PM PST.

Nov. 28th through 30th, get five free samples and free shipping with any order over $30.

Black Box Set for $49.50 ($78 value). The set includes full-sizes of: Little Black DressStained Gloss, Tarred Cosmetic Colour Pencil, Bauhaus Creme Colour Concentrate and Blaylock Cosmetic Glitter, and YES, you can use the 20% off on it! 11/28 to 12/1 only.

Omorovicza
From November 28th through December 1st, all products are 30% off.

One Hand Washes the Other
Code CYBERFRIDAYWEEKEND gets you 25% off orders of $20 and up, good through 11:59 EST MONDAY, 12/1/14. Additional flash deals may be posted on Twitter (@OHWTOcom) and Instagram (@OHWTO)

20% discount on all orders on TATCHA.com, enter the code FF2014 at checkout through December 8th.

Tom Ford
The clutch-sized (read: mini) Lips and Boys Lipstick collection hits TomFord.com on November 28th for four days; it will be available on retailer websites Cyber Monday only; After this it won't be available in stores and or online again until December 26th (and I'm guessing that's if there are any left!)

Too Faced
November 28th only, get 50% off one item of your choice when you buy Better Than Sex mascara.

Until November 30th, get $10 off $60, $15 off $75, or $20 off your purchase of $100 or more.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Better late than never, right? (Um, right??) Halloween makeups!
Quick, easy, and pretty darn cute, if I do say so!

So, things have been a bit hectic around here, but Halloween is my Christmas, so I decided I had to do at least a little something to get into the spirit. I spent half of the day at school with my (not so) little one, (deep sigh for 7-year-olds choosing thier own costumes!) so requirements were something that didn't take much time and was appropriate for wear elementary school kids. This is what I came up with!

I used Kryolan UV Aquacolor in Green mixed with a bit of MAC Face and Body in white and applied it in a rough rectangle over my eye with a stippling brush. I used a q-tip saturated with a bit of oh-so-handy Crealine (keep an eye out for an upcoming review) to clean up the edges of my little franken-patch. Then I lined around the edge of the patch and painted on black stitches and a wickedly slanted eyebrow using #00 and #2 round artist brushes (like those from Loew-Cornell) and Wolfe Hydrocolor in black.

To make things just a touch more sultry, I added some depth by placing black (Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC Blackground Paint Pot and the old square NYX black shadow) to the lid, blending it into the crease and out over the orbital bone with a MAC 217 brush. I popped a special effects lens in my monster eye, added black mascara and a quick red lip (MAC Ruby Woo, on all night!) and I was out the door.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! As I mentioned things have been crazy lately (finally got married, husband left his job to start his own business, my baby started 1st grade, room mom, Girl Scout leader, art-class assistant, dance/karate taxi service, need I go on...?) but I'm hoping to be able to carve out a bit of writing time to get back to this soon- I miss it and all of you!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Almost everyone loves those "fresh from the ocean" waves, but what if you're don't happen to be coastal? Of course, you can go out and buy "beachy hair" spray, but why waste all of that summer sunshine shopping when you probably have everything you need to make a great wave spray within reach.

How-to:
Fill an empty spray bottle halfway with almost-hot water, then add your favorite spray detangler; make sure you leave enough room so that you can add the salt and screw your top on without overflowing. Next, add salt- if you have fine hair, start with just one teaspoon and add salt in 1/4 tsp increments until you get the results you like, otherwise go ahead and add 2 full teaspoons.

If you don't have spray de-tangler laying around the house, fill your spray bottle with warm water, add the salt and then add about a nickel-sized dollop of your regular rinse-out conditioner (I use that amount with about 8oz of water. If you have very fine hair or are using a smaller spray bottle, use a bit less. Thick, dry or coarse hair, or a bigger bottle? Add a little more). Then, shake-shake-shake to blend.

That's it. I usually use my salt spray on damp or dry hair and "scrunch" to enhance the curl. I've bought plenty of wave spray in my day, but always blend my own now, because I can control the formula better (more or less conditioner, more salt for more curl- but crunchier- a little gel for hold, etc...) Enjoy!

Monday, March 31, 2014

I am OBSESSED. Of course, I don't actually like Peeps, so it's all aesthetics to me. I could stare at these all day. So when I stopped by Sally Beauty the other day and my eyes landed a Gelish polish called "Lots of Dots", my mind went "Peep!"

LoD is a clear coat sprinkled liberally with small multicolored dots (to my eye, I see red, coral, blue, yellow, grassy green, pale pink and and lilac). I knew right away that I wanted to layer it over a white creme base, a'la Peep, and when a Buy One Get One Free sign called my attention to China Glaze's new gel polish, Geláze, it was a done deal. I grabbed White on White and Shocking Pink and headed out the door.

The potentially cool thing about Gelaze (aside from the fact that it comes in 49 shades, including CG all-stars like Ruby Pumps and For Audrey) is that CG's gel polish offering is a base and color in one- no separate pH bond and foundation step like Gelish. You still need a UV/LED topcoat, and since my Sally's was out of the Gelaze one, my first run was a mishmash of products.

I Used:
Base (2 coats): China Glaze Gelaze in White on White
Accent (2 coats): Gelish in Lots of Dots
Top Coat: Gelish Top it Off
Cured under a 36 Watt UV Lamp

And here are my results:

Pretty darn cute, I must say. Now obviously, Lots of Dots is, well...dots. The end result is a bit closer to a vanilla cupcake than my coveted flaky Peeps, but I was still pleased with the look (and got tons of compliments on it).

As far as performance, I don't feel comfortable giving a definitive yay or nay on the products just yet. I'm far from an expert in my application technique, which can have a big impact on the performance of gel polish. As I mentioned before, I also mixed and matched lines, and while I've seen plenty gel-polish of connoisseurs say that's no big, I don't want to judge a line based on a "not used as recommended" experience.

Here's what I will say: First, application was a breeze- no different to me than a regular polish. I was a bit discouraged when I noticed the polish shrinking away from the free-edge after curing (and again, while I'm no pro, I do cap my tips as well as I can). I also experienced quite a bit of wrinkling, though I tried my darndest to keep my coats thin. Luckily, the wrinkling pretty much disappeared once I layered on 2 coats of Dots, so I didn't have to remove & start from scratch.

Shrinkage on tips of middle finger and thumb. Wrinkling on thumb, ring, and index fingers.

I was also very bummed to have one nail lift just a day after I did my manicure. I removed and reapplied the offending nail, but unfortunately, by the end of day two, I noticed another nail coming up. Three days in, almost all of the nails were lifting at the free edge, and by day four, I had to remove the entire manicure.

Like I said, these are just my first impressions. I am hoping human error can explain away the issues I had, and am currently testing out a few other shades. I also plan on grabbing the Gelaze Top Coat as soon as I can to see if that makes a difference.

Until then, I'd love to hear what you think about gel polishes- have you made the jump yet? What are your favorite brands (and do you mix and match systems?) OH- and does anyone know of a multicolored flaky polish that will get me closer to my Peep-esque objective?!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

For those of you who don't know, I am currently in the thickest thick of planning my upcoming wedding- less than 3 weeks to go (eeek)! Given my predilection to research, and of course my love of social media, you can bet I've been hitting the wedding forums pretty heavily. Recently, I happened upon a fellow bride-to-be wondering about how she should prep for an early morning photo shoot.

As I typed out my response on how to avoid common morning-time pitfalls (puffiness, redness, etc...) it occurred to me that my lovely (and, I apologize profusely, much neglected) readers may appreciate some tips too- after all, wedding or not, no one wants to leave the house looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

Here are my best tips and tricks for looking fabulous, no matter what your call time is:

First and foremost, if you're gearing up for photos or a special occasion, don't expect most of these tips to take effect overnight. Though some will give more instant-gratification than others, in general, the further in advance you start, the better.

Take care of your skin! Remove all of your makeup before bed and moisturize well. Be especially careful to get all traces of eye makeup off, lest it migrate around and into your eyes at night. This can cause redness, puffiness and watery eyes, and though you may not even be able to see the traces left behind in the morning, they're there- and can cause subtle shadows that will make eyes appear smaller and darker (and for some reason, mascara left on overnight seems SO much harder to remove!)

Reduction of alcohol and salt, and of course, lots of water, can help to minimize puffiness.

Sleep on a satin pillow case- it reduces tug on the skin & hair and you'll wake less creased and ruffled.

Sleeping with your head propped up with several pillows will keep fluids from settling in your face overnight (which causes puffiness).

There is some evidence that caffeine applied to the skin can relieve puffiness and redness. Soak a tea towel in strong, chilled coffee and apply it as a cold compress mask for 10-15 minutes before you apply your makeup. (Black and green tea will work too, though possibly to a lesser extent because of a lower caffeine content). Bonus: coffee and tea are full of skin-protecting antioxidants!

If you can, pinpoint the cause of your issues. Redness, puffiness and under eye darkness can all be brought on by allergies. If you notice such things seasonally or just on occasion, an over-the-counter antihistamine like Claritin or Benadryl, or anti-inflammatories like Advil, may help. Of course, I am not a doctor, so please speak to yours before beginning any medical treatment!

A cool shower, rather than warm, is more beneficial to your skin and hair. It strips less of your skin's natural barrier, so you're likely to see less dryness, flakiness, redness and irritation. Cold water also helps smooth the hair's cuticle (outer layer), which will make hair look smoother and shinier.

When applying makeup, highlight skin under the brow bone, in the inner corners of the eyes around the tear ducts, and on the orbital bone under the eye (right on the top of the cheek bones- imagine a line coming down from the arch of your brow and start there, extending the highlighter almost to temples). Choose a champagne shade (white if you're fair) with a pearly finish. Your objective is to mimic the way light hits healthy skin- visible glitter not only gives away the trick, it can appear as white or black dots in photos!

Line the lower, inner rim (waterline) with a white or nude eye pencil to make eyes appear brighter and more opened. And don't forget the mascara!

Last, smile!!! This lifts the entire face, and you'd be surprised how visible a good mood is in photos!

Friday, November 29, 2013

If you forgot to get yourself a little something special in all of this year's shopping hubbub, never fear! My friends over at Spa Sonic have us covered, and they've offered my lucky readers a chance to win their choice of a pink, lavender or classic white Spa Sonic.

This waterproof device can be used on both the face and body to deeply cleanse, exfoliate and remove impurities. Enter below, and if you haven't peeked at my MONSTER list of cyber week deals, make sure you check it out!

CoverFX
20% Friends and Family discount on all online purchases through 11:59 PM EST on December 1st.

Darling Girl Cosmetics
20% off all orders with code GOBBLEGOBBLE. Orders over $20 before shipping and discounts will get a limited edition mini of “Who Cares, It’s on Sale” eyeshadow. Samples will not be available during this sale.

Kate Somerville
Friends and Family now through December 2nd. Use code HOLIDAY2013 for 30% off one single order. Online only, some items have maximum purchase limits and some kits are excluded.

Kiss my Sass
Black Friday: 25% on any $15.00 purchase with code blackfri13
Cyber Monday: 30% on any $15.00 purchase with code cybermon13Laura Geller
20% off all online order on Cyber Monday only, with free standard shipping on all orders placed within the 24 hour window.

LeCosmetique
$5 off $25 with code 5HOLIDAY
$10 off $50 with code 10HOLIDAY
$20 off $100 with code 20HOLIDAY
$50 off $200 with code 50HOLIDAY

Lime Crime
30% off 11/29-30 with code LOVE30. Not valid on Pink Velvet.

M.A.C.
If you haven't heard yet, M.A.C. will be releasing a limited edition matte black lippie,
Hautecore, available online on Black Friday only. You know this won't last more than an hour or two online, so if you want it, better hurry!Manna Kadar Cosmetics
50% off on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Use coupon code MANNABF50 at checkout.

Purely Cosmetics
11/30, Small Business Saturday only, get 25% off everything with min $15 order. Use code SBS13 at checkout. Orders containing full sized products will also include a free gift, while supplies last.

Rain cosmetics
On Black Friday, get 50% off all products and 25% off classes and services. Cyber Monday 40% off all products.

And I Am...?

Homebase is Cincinnati, OH, and yes, I'm proud to be an Ohio girl! I love the fact that there's a Saks and Tiffany & Co. downtown, but I can drive 15 minutes and see a cornfield! I've been a makeup artist and skin care buff for almost 20 years, in just about every realm of the business you can be in- I've worked retail, managed & trained for major companies, done makeup for theatre, advertising, weddings; you name it! I'm married to the love of my life, soul mate, high-school sweetheart, life partner and other half, Brad, and we have an incredible 7-year-old daughter. I spend most of my time raising my baby (girl scout leader, school-helper, crafting and party planner extraordinaire !)